Ark. Code Ann. § 5-13-211 (2026)

1. A person commits aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility if:
   1. Under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the personal hygiene of the law enforcement officer or employee of the correctional facility, the person purposely engages in conduct that creates a potential danger of infection to the law enforcement officer or an employee of any state or local correctional facility while the law enforcement officer or employee of the state or local correctional facility is engaged in the course of his or her employment by causing a person whom the actor knows to be a law enforcement officer or employee of the state or local correctional facility to come into contact with saliva, blood, urine, feces, seminal fluid, or other bodily fluid by purposely throwing, tossing, expelling, or otherwise transferring the fluid or material; or
   2. He or she knowingly discharges a firearm with a purpose to cause serious physical injury or death to a law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility while the law enforcement officer or employee of a correctional facility is acting within the scope of his or her official duties and the person:
      1. Is in custody as a result of a felony conviction;
      2. Is unlawfully at liberty after being sentenced to imprisonment as a result of a felony conviction;
      3. Has a felony conviction for a felony offense which contained as an element the use or threat of violence against another person or the creation of a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person;
      4. Knowingly creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury or death to a person other than the law enforcement officer or the employee of a correctional facility;
      5. Causes the death of more than one (1) person;
      6. Is acting with a purpose to avoid or prevent an arrest or to escape from custody;
      7. Is acting with a purpose to obtain a pecuniary gain; or
      8. Is acting with a purpose to disrupt or hinder the lawful exercise of any government or political function.
2. Aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility is:
   1. A Class D felony under subdivision (a)(1) of this section; or
   2. A Class Y felony under subdivision (a)(2) of this section.

History. Acts 1997, No. 1235, § 1; 2003, No. 1271, § 1; 2011, No. 277, § 1; 2017, No. 367, § 5.

Amendments. The 2011 amendment inserted “a certified law enforcement officer” with minor variations throughout the section; and, in (a) inserted “a person whom the actor knows to be a certified law enforcement officer or,” “purposely,” and “or otherwise transferring.”

The 2017 amendment deleted “certified” preceding “law enforcement officer” in the section heading and throughout the section; redesignated former (a) as the introductory language of (a) and (a)(1); added (a)(2); redesignated former (b) as the present introductory language of (b) and (b)(1); added “under subdivision (a)(1) of this section” in (b)(1); and added (b)(2).